Capsule review : Legoland (Günzburg, Germany)
Lacking Europa-Park’s framework of national stereotypes, Legoland instead falls back on generic, child-friendly themes—castles, ninjas, pirates—notably omitting franchise properties for which Lego would need to pay a steep licensing fee. Yet despite its attempt to exist as a nebulous, unmoored fantasy land, it displays two distinct national characters (neither of them Danish). In contrast to Europa-Park, it offers its visitors a particularly American experience of profit-maximization, their being squeezed at every turn to enhance their experience (fees for queue-skipping, outrageous souvenir photo prices). And it makes little effort to hide its actual physical location in Germany, staffed by Germans, who make even less effort to treat visitors with anything other than brusqueness.
Rating : ★★☆☆☆
published